Edgar Ramirez IS “Carlos”!

Art & Design

“Carlos,” a sleeper movie that blew the Cannes Film Festival audiences away and opens October 15 in theaters nationwide, is our pick as the dark horse running toward Oscar this year. Sexy-scary Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramirez plays the title character, the real life Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, otherwise known as “Carlos the Jackal.” In the ’70s and ’80s, Carlos was the mastermind behind countless terror attacks in Europe and the Middle East: planes, buildings, people, you name it, he took them down. OK, so that’s not a GOOD thing. But he became an international outlaw, and apparently didn’t start OUT a genius monster orchestrator of bad things. Of course, the ladies liked his style too. The film spans 20 years, and was shot in more than six countries, all exotic ports of call. The director Olivier Assayas just somehow has “gotten it.” Not glorifying nor sanctimonious, nor overtly artsy, “Carlos,” judging from the trailers, looks like it’s just plain grabbing and electrifrying. Fasten your seat belt. Could be explosive. And how many more “Mission: Impossible” and “Bourne Identity” franchises are you willing to stand?